Massachusetts House moves toward a vote on how to boost renewable energy

BOSTON (AP) — The Massachusetts House on Wednesday appeared poised to approve a bill that would help boost the state’s reliance on renewable energy, in part by streamlining the state and local permitting process for projects that shift the state away from using fossil fuels.

Wednesday’s debate comes just weeks after the Massachusetts Senate approved its own bill to help the state meet its climate goals, including reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

Democratic Speaker Ronald Mariano said the House bill aims to increase the supply of clean energy through new renewable energy projects, more storage capacity and streamlined permitting.

The House measure would consolidate both state and local permitting and set 12- to 15-month limits for considering all final permitting decisions, echoing language in the Senate bill.

The House proposal also calls for procuring additional clean energy resources, including from existing nuclear generation, and allows future offshore wind and clean energy contracts to be extended up to 30 years. They’re now limited to 20.

The House is also considering letting companies that want to build small clean energy infrastructure facilities to submit a single permit application for all the approvals needed.

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